Walk Through My Neighborhood

I took a walk today to the library in West Portal. I stopped for coffee and to write a letter. Passing the Catholic school near my house, and on my way home, as the sun was setting, I was inspired to document a few visuals. Looking for interesting images gives me a chance to stop and savour. And I had a number of those wonderful I-love-San-Francisco-and-my-neighborhood moments.

 

Funny Dog in My Neighborhood

Kickin' back...



Close-up!

Food Cart Phenomenon

Margaret of Nomad's Kitchen at Sansome and Greenwich, San Francisco

I am slow to catch on...the phenomenon has finally made its presence known to my brain. A coworker months ago recommended following the Creme Brulee Man on Twitter. What a great concept! He can be free to go where he pleases, can easily update his account via cell phone, and customers can find him.

The Creme Brulee Man at Dolores Park, SF (photo from Tamara Palmer's SFoodie blog on SFWeekly.com)

Since following the CBM, I've been hearing about this mobile food cart thing more and more.

I asked this same coworker, let's call her Molly (pssst...her real name is Molly), how long this foodie subculture has been thriving. She believes it is in large part due to Twitter, which came about in 2006 and enables the aforesaid customer hookup and exists in all big cities where people love to make food and can't afford or want to start a restaurant.

In comes the explanation of the above photo - Nomad's Kitchen. I was walking to get my usual boring sandwich and I ran into Margaret standing beside her super cute set-up of vintage bike, picnic basket of goodies, and menu sign. She was lovely to field all my questions and to provide an amazing Thai pulled pork sandwich...oh soooo good! She said her set up was a bike deli. She went on to say she loved cooking and preparing food, but couldn't afford a food truck let alone a restaurant. The bike business will hopefully enable her to save up for a food truck, but for now she's having a great time traveling to places, tweeting her location, and selling her food.

I walked back to work with my sandwich and getting to my desk, I knew I had to run back with my camera and get her pic. I found her on Twitter - http://twitter.com/NomadsKitchen - and am keeping a look out for when she's back in my neighborhood.

San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Part II

A week has past since the visual/aural film experiences in the dark of the Castro Theatre. I am so thankful to have two amazing festivals here in San Francisco - the SF Silent Film Festival and Noir City. I don't want to get sidetracked though. I want to record my thoughts on Metropolis (Germany, 1927) and Häxan (Denmark/Sweden, 1922).

One more sidetrack, I made a correction just now to the Part I post. I was getting Man with a Movie Camera and Metropolis mixed up. I said MWMC was being re-released on DVD/Blu-Ray, but that's the new, complete version of Metropolis! The DVD of MWMC with the Alloy Orchestra score was released in 2002.

Like many people my first viewing of Metropolis was of the Georgio Moroder version on VHS. Although it pains myself and many a film aficionado to remember this version of the film because of the pop music soundtrack, I understand and applaud his work to introduce modern film audiences to silent film. Audiences, without the experience of watching wordless visuals and music, can benefit from the more obvious emotions of pop song lyrics to engage them and focus their attention. I was definitely in this camp of inexperienced silent viewers until I had more viewing practice. We're so used to the pairing of words and visuals in late 20th century media that it is a new skill to focus on the wordless. I say "wordless," but of course I mean no words heard aloud, as silent films do have silent text in the intertitles.

I venture a guess this title is from Lon Chaney's The Man Who Laughs (1928).

Back in, I believe, 1988, I saw Metropolis for the first time in a theater, at the Castro. While it was a revelation to see the film in a movie palace with live accompaniment, the score was horrific. The music competed with the film's pacing and broke up key sequences. During one key moment, when the main character Freder sees the deadly consequences of the class organization of their society, the orchestra began to tune their instruments for the next phase of their "score." It was terrible; I wished I could have turned them off as complete silence would have been better for the film than the jarring live score.

Fast forward to 2010 and the Alloy Orchestra. I couldn't help feeling an impending cloud over my head as the movie began; that my experience would be flawed, that I'd leave feeling disappointed. The sense of relief and excitement grew as each moment passed and the music was amazing. It so well supported the visuals and the emotions and the pacing. I simply can't gush enough about Alloy.

They worked so closely with the film that I was unable to tear my eyes away from the screen at any point and I was on the edge of my seat for 2 1/2 hours! It was easily one of the best film experiences ever.

It's already so late, and I have to get my day started, so thoughts of Häxan tomorrow. I can't leave without lingering a bit more on the astounding visuals in Metropolis (cinematography by Karl Freund, one noteworthy film he lit and shot is the lush and dark Dracula 1931).

San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Part I

Another weekend of silent film! It was San Francisco Silent Film Festival's 15th year, yay festival!! It's a great time to surround yourself with some of the best aspects of the past: a solid excuse to pull out the 1920-30s outfits from the closet, gorge on movie after movie, and take in the beauty of the Castro Theatre.

Being Tuesday morning, my post-festival depression has lifted a bit and I can, with a clear head, contemplate all the fabulousness of the weekend.

Three films where the highlight of my weekend: Metropolis, Haxan, and Man with a Movie Camera. The music was a big part of the success of these films, so kudos to the evocative and drop-dead beautiful music for Haxan by the Matti Bye Ensemble from Sweden and the amazing, spectacular, dead-on, and sometimes overwhelming music for Metropolis and Man with a Movie Camera by the Alloy Orchestra.

The tireless and always smiling Margarita Landazuri, festival writer and program editor, said about Man with a Movie Camera, "It's like I'd never seen it before!" I felt the exactly same way. Dziga Vertov's documentary about a day in the life of a Russian city (actually shot in three cities: Moscow, Odessa, and Kiev) contained visuals that are engaging for what they show of little daily details of life in 1929: waking up in a typical apartment, getting ready in the morning, at the beauty salon, inner city transportation, leisure time, at work, lots and lots of visual information plus shots of the cinematographer at work. Then add the Alloy Orchestra to bring a sense of urgency and movement to all the shots of people doing and going and you have an experience that is simply amazing.

I loved the shots of the cameraman on a motorbike.

The topper - the film with the Alloy score is out on DVD! CORRECTION! I just realized that the version of the film seen at the festival is the brand new, full-length version with a slightly revised score to cover the additional footage. I understand this new version with the Alloy Orchestra is due out on DVD and Blu-Ray November 2010. Ack! What am I saying! I've confused Man with a Movie Camera with Metropolis!! It is Metropolis that is getting the new version released with the extra, complete footage!!

This DVD of the old version (not complete)

San Francisco Silent Film Festival

A glorious weekend of silent film presented at the beautiful Castro with great music and engaging and educational pre-show slideshow presentations. Metropolis (Germany, 1927) is already sold out! My slideshow is on Shanghai for the film A Spray of Plum Blossoms (China, 1931), although that program is 2pm on Friday, but I'll be there!

Although Louise Brooks is always breathtaking... oh Louise...

...I've already seen Diary of a Lost Girl (Germany, 1929) a couple times at the Castro, and so I have to admit though, I am really looking forward to seeing Haxan [English title: The Witches] at the Castro.

Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (Denmark/Sweden, 1922)

I watched it for the second time recently with friends and it is as interesting, serious, and totally bat-shit nutso as I remembered. It will be beyond, beyond to see it on the big screen with music by the Matti Bye Ensemble. It is a huge deal as the Ensemble is coming all the way from Sweden to play for this program!

A series of three amazing blog posts on The Obscure Hollow about this amazing film can be found here, here, and here with TONS and TONS of great photos.

Be still my beating heart!

After Work Desserts!

What could be better after a long day then a glass of wine and desserts? Headed over to Range, an amazing restaurant in the Mission.

Photo courtesy of sweethardt

I wanted to bring my friend Erin to sample some of Michelle's amazing dessert artistry.

This is the desert I went there for and the one I didn't write down the menu listing, noooo! So as far as my sad foodie skills go, this is a light-as-a-feather coconut cake with regina peaches, and basil ice cream. All her desserts go easy on the sugar, so you can really taste the coconut flavor and the amazing peaches.

This one was, OMG! Peach leaf pot de crème with sour cherries and cocoa nib cookies. It was the creamiest, soft, with subtle flavor of peach, oh dear, oh dear.

We sat at the bar and watched the bartender making beautiful looking and smelling cocktails. He was super nice and answered our many questions, such as what animal product is used in wine making as we know there is wine known as vegan. Answer: egg whites in the clarifying process. Who knew? The bartender of course!! It was a lovely evening of conversation and decadence.

I Heart San Francisco

After leaving work a smidge early Friday, I walked up the Filbert steps. As usual the gardens lining the stairs were verdant and the cottages cozy-looking, nestled in the hillside.

I usually turn on Montgomery, but having time, I walked up remaining steps to Coit Tower. The views of the bay, the old piers, the bridge combined with the architecture and the views the residents have, not to mention the achingly perfect warm weather made my heart flip. I had a rush of affection for San Francisco and a strong reminder of why I live here.

This home was thin and long, long side toward the bay. The lower floor has a spiral staircase and the upper floor, through the windows, I can only see sky, but can tell there must be an amazing view.

Warm, Cold, Warm, Fog

I have a cold, but nothing a fabulous hot toddy from Absinthe can't temporarily fix!

Had a lovely early evening with friends Erin and Moira - visiting from New Zealand! I learned that unlike Australia that has marsupials, New Zealand has no native mammals, except a couple of species of bats. Love the batties!

New Zealand's Long Tailed Bat

The weather has been cold in the mornings and evenings and lovely during the day. That means layers, layers! The fog was thick and beautiful last night and this morning...after warming up all day, the fog isn't so painful and can be better appreciated for its atmospheric beauty.

Fog last night, waiting for a bus.

Fog this morning, out my window.

Another Scorcher!

Another day in the high 80s...what to wear?!